University Medical Professor In South Korea Holds Strike Action Starting July 12

Severance Hospital in Seoul, South Korea. (Wikimedia Commons/Bak1999)

JAKARTA - A medical professor at three hospitals affiliated with South Korean universities on Monday announced plans for an indefinite strike, amid a prolonged stalemate between doctors and the government over plans for medical reform.

The emergency committee, which consists of professors who serve as senior doctors at the university, announced a strike from 12 July.

However, they excluded the operation of emergency rooms and intensive care units, calling on the government to "attract pressure on medical students and interns" and have dialogue.

"The medical community seeks to initiate dialogue by offering solutions and compromise, but the government firmly ignores all and abuses its administrative orders," the committee said in a statement.

The announcement came after professors at the Severance Hospital, Gangnam Severance Hospital and Yongin Severance Hospital began suspending outpatient care, non-emergency operations, and other services from Thursday last week.

Senior doctors at the Asan Medical Center are expected to go on strike for one week, also starting Thursday.

Despite strong opposition from doctors, the government completed an increase in revenue quota of around 1,500 students for medical schools in May, in a bid to address the shortage of doctors.

Last month, the government asked hospitals to immediately accept the resignation of interns who had left their workplaces in protest over government medical reforms, in a concrete move to calm down junior doctors.

Around 12,000 interns have left their jobs since late February to protest the increase in the number of medical students. As a punishment measure, the government ordered hospitals not to accept the resignation of interns to prevent them from looking for jobs in other clinics.

Last week, a committee set up by the medical community to direct a joint response to months of stalemate with the government over plans for medical reform decided to hold a national debate on July 26 regarding government medical reforms.